Audit Shows End of Life Care Improving

End of Life care is improving but there is still room for improvement.

That's the message from an audit of end of life care in hospitals funded by the Marie Curie Foundation and NHS England. This is the first audit since the withdrawal of the "Liverpool Care Pathway" in 2014 which, it had been found, was not been appropriately and compassionately applied in some cases,

Marie Curie Foundation comments: "Overall, the results show that there have been documented improvements in:

1. Recognition that patients are dying and that they have received holistic assessments of their care
2. The amount and quality of communication with patients who are able to communicate, and with those identified as important to them
3. Symptom control for the dying person
4. Commitment to education, training, reporting and continuous improvement in caring for dying people

However, there is room for improvement, particularly in the provision of palliative care services 24-7; the audit also shows how some hospitals did well in many areas but not in others. "

You can also read comments from the Royal College of Physicians.

The full report is attached.